


In The Arms of the Ocean

by Melisandre_deWinter



Series: Red is the Warmest Color: Cersei and Melisandre are Ice and Fire [14]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A Song of Ice and Fire References, Alternate Universe - A Song of Ice and Fire Fusion, Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Game of Thrones Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Baby Gay, Badass Cersei Lannister, Beach Holidays, Beach Sex, Beaches, Bonding, Bottom Jaime Lannister, Breasts, Cunnilingus, Dom Cersei Lannister, F/F, Female Bonding, Fictional Religion & Theology, Fire, Fire Magic, Fire Powers, First Love, Florence + the Machine References, Game of Thrones References, Hair, Hair Braiding, Hair Kink, Hair-pulling, Happy Cersei Lannister, Inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire, Inspired by Florence + the Machine, Inspired by Game of Thrones, Inspired by Music, Large Breasts, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Licking, Love Letters, Magic, Moonlight, Music, Musical References, Musicians, No Game of Thrones | A Song of Ice and Fire Knowledge Required, POV Alternating, POV Cersei Lannister, POV Lesbian Character, POV Melisandre of Asshai, Possessive Behavior, Singing, Skinny Dipping, Song: Cinnamon Girl (Lana Del Rey), Song: Never Let Me Go (Florence + the Machine), Summer, Summer Love, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation, Trichophilia, Vulnerability, Witchcraft, Witches, Young Cersei Lannister, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melisandre_deWinter/pseuds/Melisandre_deWinter
Summary: "Cersei Lannister always got what she wanted and right now she didn’t just want Melisandre, she needed her. She ran her short nails up and down Melisandre’s bare back. Melisandre shuddered, and her firm posture relaxed.  'Keep going,' that deep voice intoned, and Cersei did, as she would’ve even if Melisandre hadn’t asked."Modern AU summer fling between college-aged Cersei and Melisandre. Including musical numbers, magic, hot sex, and deep baby gay feels
Relationships: Cersei Lannister & Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister & Oberyn Martell, Jaime Lannister/Oberyn Martell, Melisandre of Asshai/Cersei Lannister
Series: Red is the Warmest Color: Cersei and Melisandre are Ice and Fire [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/977337
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	In The Arms of the Ocean

_“It was never truly dark in Melisandre’s chambers” —opening line, Melisandre I,_ _A Dance with Dragons_

It was never truly cool in Melisandre’s bedroom.

Having her faith to warm her was a blessing during the winter, but during the summer? A nightmare. The room the Temple had rented for her to stay in over the summer had air conditioning, but it hardly helped. Melisandre’s faith was so strong it lit a fire within her body, and her blood boiled with fervor. Not just fervor for R’hllor, but also for the blonde girl on the boardwalk. 

She pushed the covers off and walked out of bed, slowly on her tiptoes so that she wouldn’t wake up [ Benerro ](https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Benerro), the other priest-in-training who’d been sent to Lannisport for the summer to preach the Lord of Light’s word to the unconverted. It was too hot for clothes and if he woke up, she’d have to put clothes on so that he wouldn’t see her naked. He didn’t stand a chance with her, anyway. Not exactly her type, being a guy and all.

Moonlight streamed into the room through the window, and Melisandre approached it with longing. Gazing out the window, she saw the ocean. _It must be so refreshing to cool off in the water_ , she thought. But she couldn’t. _Fire and water cannot mix._ At least that’s what she told herself when she felt her heart race every day on the boardwalk while watching waves crash. Better that than admitting she was too cowardly to try to swim. But there hadn’t been time for swimming lessons during the days of prayer and study that had consumed her life since childhood. When she’d been chosen to go on a mission to a beach town by her Faith, she couldn’t refuse the honor by mentioning she not only couldn’t swim but was in fact scared of the water. Melisandre had practiced her art for hours beyond count, and she had paid the price; she could sing prayers more beautifully than anyone else and cast spells more powerful than anyone else’s, but couldn’t swim and was always so damn hot.

She opened the window and breathed in the cool, salty air. After looking behind her to make sure Ben was fast asleep, she carefully climbed out the window and hopped onto the boardwalk that, luckily, was just below her first-floor room. _Just because I can’t swim in the ocean doesn’t mean I can’t look at it_. Ever since she’d discovered the secret path from the boardwalk to the small, hidden beach, she’d gone every night, dipping her toes in the water and practicing spells on the sand, unencumbered by anyone else’s presence.

“You’re trespassing. This is private property,” a voice behind her said. 

Startled, Melisandre whipped around, and saw the pair of green eyes that had made her heart race earlier that day...

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 _“She dreamt she sat the Iron Throne, high above them all” —opening line of Cersei I,_ _A Feast for Crows_

Cersei sat on Jaime’s shoulders, high above them all.

She grinned as he hauled her up the steps and onto the boardwalk, Oberyn following. A breeze blew her hair into her eyes, and she tossed her head to get it out of her face and peer over the crowd. _Tourists_ , she sneered to herself, perched above them where she belonged. Summers were always swarming with them, so Cersei preferred to avoid the boardwalk and public beach in favor of the Lannisters’ private beach at their mansion, Casterly Rock. But Jaime had promised to show Oberyn the boardwalk, and Cersei wanted to see the redhead again.

Cersei heard her before she saw her. “Sometimes I throw my hands up in the air, but I know I can count on you,” the deep and seductive voice sang out, “sometimes I feel like Lord of Light, I just don’t care, but you’ve got the flame I need to see me through.” As she finished strumming her acoustic guitar and her hymn ended, the crowd clapped, and Cersei peered over their heads to spot a flash of red. The girl wore a long red sundress that flowed to the floor. Her dark crimson hair was bound in two braids that fell far past her waist, and she only ever smiled with her mouth closed, a hint of sadness behind her eyes. “Cers,” Jaime said, “can we go back to the beach? I am so over you making us hear that evangelical wail about God every day just because you’re bored after dumping Taena and want something pretty to look at.” Cersei smacked him playfully on the head. Most of the time, them both being gay helped bond the twins, and Cersei always had fun hanging out with Jaime’s boyfriend Oberyn, but it also made Jaime unable to understand why she needed to keep returning to see the girl who always wore red and sang hymns on the boardwalk. “Plus,” Oberyn chimed in, “she’s _so_ straight. Look at her nails!”

“They’re long so that she can play guitar,” Cersei insisted, and when she turned her head to look at the girl again, the girl’s red eyes were boring into hers. Cersei smirked and winked at her, and the girl gave a sly, closed-mouth smile back before packing up her guitar.

Cersei wanted to talk to her, but Jaime started walking back to the beach, pulling Cersei along with him as she continued to ride over the crowd on his shoulders. Maybe tomorrow she’d approach the singer, even if she was some Jesus freak. She might try to convert Cersei to religion, but Cersei felt certain she could instead convert the girl to lesbianism. She’d done so for plenty of other girls before.

But the girl was here now, wading into the ocean on the Lannisters’ private beach. Totally naked, only covered by the red hair that burned bright even in the dark and that covered her entire back and butt like a blanket, falling almost to her knees. Cersei wasn’t sure how she had possibly accessed this private property, but she sure as hell was glad that she somehow had! When Cersei had heard a sound outside her window and ran to the beach to find out what it was, pulling on denim cutoff shorts and a bikini top before leaving her room, she hadn’t expected such a pleasing sight. 

“You’re trespassing. This is private property.”

After Cersei made her own presence known, the girl whipped around, and pulled her long hair over her bare body to cover it. “I’m so sorry,” she said, in that deep voice Cersei loved hearing on the boardwalk. “I didn’t know this was private property. There’s a path from the place I’m staying that leads here, and I love putting my feet in the ocean when the moonlight shines upon it. But I’ll go, if you don’t mind giving me some privacy considering…” she gestured at her naked body.

“Luckily for you, I brought a towel,” Cersei replied, and held it out to her. “What’s your name, anyway?” “Melisandre. And you?” “Cersei.” 

“Cersei,” Melisandre repeated, the word sounding like music when it rolled off her tongue. She wrapped the towel around her. “I’d best be going home now. It’s just so hot that it’s hard for me to fall asleep, and it feels nice to get fresh air.” “I have central air,” Cersei boasted. Casterly Rock was the grandest mansion around, and had all the amenities anyone could want. “Want to check it out?” Melisandre looked down at the sand. “I’d be more comfortable going to a stranger’s home if I had proper clothes…” “I have plenty. Borrow whatever you want for tonight.” Cersei’s heart raced as she continued, “I’ve seen you play on the boardwalk. You have a beautiful voice, so if you want, you can also check out our grand piano.” Melisandre’s eyes glimmered when she heard that, like two red stars flashing in the night. “Yes,” she said thoughtfully. “Just tell me where to go and I’ll follow you”

************************************************************************************************

Melisandre’s eyes widened when she saw the grand piano. “We have a piano at the temple, and I travel with a keyboard to practice, but I’ve never played on anything like this,” she said, walking towards it and brushing the ends of her fingers along the keys. “Temple?” Cersei inquired. “[The Temple of the Lord of Light](https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Temple_of_the_Lord_of_Light#:~:text=The%20Temple%20of%20the%20Lord%20of%20Light%20is,Fiery%20Hand.%20Its%20High%20Priest%20is%20Benerro%20),” Melisandre responded, locking eyes with Cersei while still managing to take in the grandness of not just the piano but also of the entire mansion. “That’s where I’m studying to become a priestess.” She grasped the towel around her tightly. “Ah, you’re one of those R’hllorians,” Cersei said, her eyes now being the ones that widened. “They’re hardcore. I assumed you were some born-again Christian type because of all those religious songs you sing on the boardwalk every day, and since past-butt-length hair like yours has Christian Fundamentalist vibes. Aren’t R’hllorians into burning people alive?” Melisandre laughed. “That’s an old myth. We use fire in our practice, but we don’t kill people.” 

She sat down at the piano without asking, but Cersei didn’t seem to mind. “And our songs are better than Christian hymns, but I’m biased.” “They certainly sound good when you sing them,” Melisandre heard Cersei respond from behind her. “I’m glad you think so,” she said, keeping her gaze on the keys, “since I was chosen to come here because the Temple hoped others would feel that way. Benerro—he’s another priest-in-training—and I are here for the summer as missionaries. Our trainers thought my singing would help draw people into the faith. Does it make you feel curious to learn more about the Lord of Light?” Cersei laughed. “I’m never going to be religious, no matter how hot the missionary is. But I’m certainly curious about you.” Melisandre’s shoulders stiffened, and she worked hard to stop herself from looking at the girl whose breath she felt behind her. 

“So,” Cersei said, “what do you do all day to become a priestess? I’m going into my senior year at Westeros College, but I imagine it’s pretty different from Jesus camp...I mean R’hllor camp.” She plucked a cigarette from her pocket. “We pray, and we practice.” “Practice what?” Cersei asked, about to grab a lighter. “This,” Melisandre replied, and closed her eyes. Cersei’s cigarette lit on its own, and she dropped it to the floor in shock. “What the fuck?” she exclaimed. “I knew it! I knew you guys were weird, doing witchcraft and shit like that.” Melisandre smiled to herself, and started playing a few notes on the piano. 

“Is this one of those, ‘R’hllor light the way, for the night is dark and full of terrors,’ songs?” she heard Cersei say, knowing she was smirking without seeing her face. “No. I’m allowed only to play our hymns for the public while I’m here, for conversion purposes. But I write my own music as well. Would you like to hear a song I’ve been working on?” Cersei moved to the other side of the piano and leaned onto it, facing Melisandre. “Oh, yes,” she said. Melisandre nodded and began playing the song more fully on the piano instead of just tinkling at the keys. “Ok, then. It’s kind of heavy, from a time when my faith wasn’t as resolute, but here goes...

_When fire leaves a girl_

_Too burned to dry my life_

_Living on a fault line_

_And then I—_

_I just laid down and cried_

_The waters don't really go by me_

_Give me something I can see_

_Something bigger and louder than the voices in me_

_Something to believe_

_Didn't always do it right_

_Might have left the heat on high_

_Didn't know I had any left_

_Thought I finally met my death_

_Gonna do all I can_

_Stay away from the quicksand_

_Gonna do all I can_

_Nobody's gonna love you the same way_

_Some of us go astray, I walk so far from them all_

_Instead of dropping the ball, I seem to carry so many_

_The colors don't align, a question of time_

_I seem to lose what I find_

_Please give me a sign soon_

_Really wanna find out the truth_

_And then I—_

_I just laid down and cried_

_The waters don't really go by me_

_Give me something I can see_

_Something bigger and louder than the voices in me_

_Something to believe_ ”

(full song at this link; you’re meant to imagine Melisandre’s singing voice and the song sounding like this: [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2o_VMWiEw ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2o_VMWiEw)).

Melisandre’s fingers lingered on the keys, and she finally looked up from them to Cersei’s face, which was enraptured. After their gazes lingered at one another’s for a few moments, Cersei finally spoke. “I usually have a comeback for everything, but that was beautiful. I don’t even know what else to say. You’re ridiculously talented. The type of talent that shouldn’t be wasted on only religious chants.” Melisandre blushed. “I’ve never shared my original work with anyone, but how could I not, with this grand piano and this...company?” Cersei scrunched her nose. “That one line…’the waters don’t really go by me’ might have to change after a summer at the beach.”

“Well,” Melisandre replied, hesitating for a moment, “they still don’t really go by me. That line is me trying to put a more poetic spin on—don’t laugh at me—the fact that I can’t swim. I’ve been coming to your beach every night to put my feet in the water and see if I could try, but every time I get scared.” Cersei walked over and hovered by Melisandre. “I’ll teach you,” she said eagerly, “if you teach me guitar. I’ve been wanting to learn for a while.” 

Melisandre stuck out her hand. “Deal,” she responded, and Cersei shook it. “Deal.” Melisandre stood up, holding onto the towel that covered her. “But probably tomorrow night. The sun is starting to rise, and I need to get back to my apartment. Ben is going to flip and report to our supervisor if I’m not there when he wakes up.” Cersei arched an eyebrow. “Can’t say I blame him for wanting to see you when he wakes up.” Melisandre sighed. “He wants me and he worships me. What I said earlier tonight about femme invisibility…he thinks he stands a chance just because I like dresses and nail polish, although he knows full well…” “that you’re gay?” Cersei responded, her green eyes glimmering. “Yes,” Melisandre responded, giving Cersei one of her closed-mouth smiles. “R’hllorism is open about sexuality, thankfully. The Lord of Light doesn’t care who we’re attracted to, as long as we remain wedded to Him.” 

Cersei was now sitting next to Melisandre on the piano bench. “You just be aware that sounds creepy. Do you have promise rings?” Melisandre tugged on the choker that encircled her neck, the red ruby at its center pulsing. “This binds me to and shows my promise to Him. The men have bracelets. The women have our chokers. We never remove them.” Cersei wondered if Melisandre at least took it off when she fucked, or if she’d have to rip it off the witch.

Melisandre stood up. “I have to go. Thank you for having me over, Cersei. May I keep the towel, and I can return it to you when we next meet?” 

“Yeah, you can. How about tomorrow, same spot on the beach, at 9 at night, for the first swimming lesson?” “Works for me,” Melisandre said. “Although since I can’t swim, I didn’t bring any bathing suits. Do you have one I could borrow?” Cersei gave Melisandre’s body a once-over. “I have some, but you’re almost as tall as my brother and you have huge tits. My tops won’t fit those. But you can buy something before tomorrow night.” Melisandre shrugged. “We’ll work something out. Until tomorrow.” She turned around. 

“Wait!” Cersei yelled after her, and the witch and her magical masses of crimson hair whipped around. “I’m having my 21st birthday party later this month, and the band who was supposed to come backed out, so...want to perform there as the musical entertainment? But no religious songs! It’s a party!” Melisandre laughed, and even her laughter was melodious. “I can certainly find something else to play. Now I really have to go. See you tomorrow night.” She ran off, hair streaming behind her. Cersei watched her become smaller and smaller as she ran onto the boardwalk back to her apartment.

*********************************

Cersei hadn’t seen Melisandre on the boardwalk that day, only the guy she’d sometimes seen join her with the shaved head and flame tattoos playing guitar in her place, who she now noticed wore a bracelet with a ruby that looked like Melisandre’s choker. Must be that Ben guy she mentioned. Her absence made Cersei especially excited to see her again that evening, but even in her wildest dreams she didn’t expect what she found to be _this_ sexy.

Melisandre stood facing Cersei on the shore, loosely grasping onto the towel that covered her body. “I know you suggested I buy a swimsuit but you’ve already seen everything underneath, so…” she shrugged with one hand, her other holding onto the towel. Cersei herself wore denim shorts over her bikini. “Hey, if you’re naked, it’s only fair to you if I get naked too, right? If you’re comfortable with that” she asked. But it was a rhetorical question, because she knew it was what Melisandre wanted, which her nod confirmed. As Cersei pulled her shorts off, Melisandre laid the towel on the sand, and Cersei quickly undressed, using all her energy not to look at Melisandre yet, and then threw her bikini and shorts onto the towel before standing up. 

The two girls faced one another silently, each of them surveying the other’s body with their eyes. “You’re right that your bikini tops wouldn’t have fit my...what did you say? Huge tits?” Melisandre slyly said, and turned around to run into the water before Cersei could say anything bitchy in return. 

A gust of wind blew towards them from the right, and Melisandre stopped and turned around as Cersei pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. “You won’t want to wear your hair loose while swimming,” Cersei shouted towards her. “It’ll get tangled.” Cersei’d had her hair cut short as soon as possible once she’d escaped her domineering father at college, but although her hair had never been as long as Melisandre’s she’d always known better than to wear it loose while swimming. Too messy. So she could only imagine the wet, tangled religious fundamentalist mess that Melisandre would have to deal with. 

Melisandre walked towards her, those big breasts with the perfect, small nipples bouncing with every step, her pubic hair as crimson as the hair on her head. “My hands hurt from playing guitar all day. You braid it,” she commanded, and turned around. Cersei was not one to be bossed around by anyone, and hardly remembered how to braid hair after she’d rid herself of those annoyingly-girly long golden curls, “enforced by dear old dad onto his little princess,” she’d complained to the hairdresser who’d finally freed her from them. But whenever Melisandre spoke to her, she felt as though she was under a spell, stripped of her free will. “Fine,” she sighed, and stepped towards Melisandre, grasping for the endless red waves that blew in the wind and somehow managing to separate them into three sections. Melisandre stood firm as Cersei began to twist her thick hair into a braid...as firm as her ass _concentrate on the hair right now. You’ll get to the ass later_ , Cersei told herself. But as her hands moved further and further down Melisandre’s body as her hands braided further and further down Melisandre’s hair, hands grasping hair that fell well past Melisandre’s butt, which she had to work hard to avoid touching, it became harder to focus. 

Melisandre handed Cersei a hairtie without Cersei even needing to tell her she’d finished; the girl had a sixth sense. _Must be the whole witchcraft thing._ After Cersei fastened Melisandre’s braid, she couldn’t help herself; Cersei Lannister always got what she wanted and right now she didn’t just want Melisandre, she needed her. She ran her short nails up and down Melisandre’s bare back. Melisandre shuddered, and her firm posture relaxed. “Keep going,” that deep voice intoned, and Cersei did, as she would’ve even if Melisandre hadn’t asked her to. 

Cersei flipped Melisandre towards her by pulling her braid to the side so hard that her whole body whipped around, and Melisandre grabbed Cersei’s face into a kiss after her spin. Their bare chests pressed against one another, and they continued kissing while standing, Cersei’s left hand grasping Melisandre’s body to hers, using her right hand to graze the inside of Melisandre’s thigh with her fingertips. Melisandre was wet—not from the ocean— and she moaned softly as Cersei slipped her fingers inside her.

Cersei pushed Melisandre down onto the towel and pressed her body a few inches above to look into those red eyes. As she did, Melisandre bit her bottom lip, and pulled at the lock of blonde hair that was always falling over Cersei’s eye. “Ouch!” Cersei couldn’t help but cry out, and Melisandre laughed. _The audacity!_ As a bit of revenge, Cersei used the fingers she already had inside Melisandre to pinch her clit. “Nice try,” Melisandre whispered in response, without any hint of pain, and Cersei pressed herself down onto Melisandre, fingers circling towards her g-spot as she moved her mouth from Melisandre’s mouth to kiss those perfect breasts, then between her breasts, then down the whole length of her stomach, until both her fingers and her tongue caressed Melisandre’s clit, Melisandre’s body heaving with pleasure until one especially hard thrust that made her entire body shudder and then collapse onto the towel.

Cersei slid off of Melisandre to lay next to her on the towel, both of them panting heavily. “So,” Cersei managed to get out in between gasps as she played with the bottom of Melisandre’s braid, “ready for that swimming lesson yet?”

Melisandre turned towards her and, in an upwards motion from the bottom of Cersei’s neck, ran her fingers through the back of and tousled her mop of blonde hair, then started stroking the inside of Cersei’s thighs, long fingers crawling closer and closer in. “Not until I get my turn with you, too.” 

*********************************************

They didn’t get much swimming done that summer.

Guitar lessons progressed just as poorly, since every time Melisandre would show Cersei how to play certain chords, Cersei never wanted her to stop. Instead she let Melisandre play her own original music as Cersei lay her head on her lap, kissing the insides of Melisandre’s thighs as she strummed the guitar. But all those hours of religious study had taught Melisandre discipline, and she always finished her songs before returning Cersei’s kisses. Sometimes they heard noise outside Cersei’s bedroom door as Melisandre played; Cersei knew Jaime and Oberyn liked the sound of her voice and kept a secret audience, but there was no way her bother and his boytoy ( _or was it the other way around? Probably._ ) would get to hear what was meant only for her. “Get the fuck out!” she’d yell, and she and Melisandre laughed together when they heard the boys scurry away. Oberyn and Melisandre got along...saying “like magic” would be too on-the-nose given Melisandre’s powers, so let’s say famously. Jaime seemed slightly scared of her, but most people were. Not Cersei, though. She was a lioness, unafraid of anything. 

Besides one thing: the end of the summer, when she’d lose Melisandre.

******************************************************************************************************

Melisandre found herself telling Cersei things she’d never told anyone else, but maybe that’s because most people found her so intimidating they didn’t even bother talking to her like a human being. Not Cersei; finally another girl her age spoke to her as an equal, and that made Melisandre more open than she’d ever been...with her thoughts, and not just with her legs. When Cersei asked how she became religious, she admitted that she “never _became_ religious, I had to be. After I was born, whoever my mother was left me on the steps of the Temple in Volantis, so I’ve been there ever since. Until this summer.” She held Cersei’s hand as they lay naked together on the bed, and sang the words that popped into her head, the melody forming as she sang:

_There’s things I want to say to you_

_But I’ll just let you live_

_Like if you hold me without hurting me_

_You’ll be the first who ever did_

_There’s things I want to talk about_

_But better not to give…_

“Since if I hold you without hurting you, I’ll be the first who ever did?” Cersei turned onto her side to face Melisandre. “That’s deep. And sad. I hurt people often...I’m a bitch, we both know that. So I’m probably not the best person to trust.” 

And she learned much about Cersei in return. Cersei started every morning with black coffee and a cigarette, but hadn’t known what Melisandre liked. “I’m not really a coffee person. Do you have tea?” Cersei twirled a chunk of Melisandre’s hair around her finger as they lay in bed, Melisandre circling her own finger around Cersei’s nipple. “You want milk in it?” “I like cinnamon in my tea. Unusual, I know” “No, that totally fits your vibe,” Cersei replied, and her eyes flashed with mischief. “Go to the kitchen and grab the cinnamon from the top shelf on the far left.” Melisandre had an idea of what Cersei had in mind, and she started to get wet thinking about it. “Of course,” she responded, kissing Cersei on the forehead before throwing on a robe and sauntering out of the bedroom. Because she was so tall, she didn’t need to stand on her tiptoes to reach the high shelf, and as she grabbed the cinnamon from the spice rack, she noticed pill bottles with Cersei’s name on them. Abilify, Prozac, Klonopin. _A mood stabilizer, an antidepressant, and a benzo. Of course, with the storm that rages behind those green eyes..._ had Cersei known she’d see this?

She didn’t need to ask, for when she returned to the bedroom and shrugged off her robe Cersei was sitting up, with a smirk on her face. “So now you know I’m…” she made the gesture people always made to signify craziness, where they point their finger next to their head and spin it around. Melisandre sat down next to Cersei and sprinkled cinnamon on her lover’s bare breasts. “I don’t care about that. And don’t call yourself crazy. It’s good that you get help.” She bent her head downwards and licked the cinnamon off Cersei’s breasts, her loose hair cascading onto Cersei’s chest, then kissed her. “ _Cinnamon_ ,” she sang and sprinkled some on the bottom of Cersei’s stomach, right above her pubic hair, 

“ _Cinnamon_ , _in my teeth, from your kiss_

_You’re touching me_

_All the pills that you take_

_Violet, blue, green, red to keep me_

_At arm's length don't work_

_You try to push me out_

_But I just find my way back in_

_Violet, blue, green, red to keep me out_

_I win” (song credit: https://youtu.be/DCYmJDO2_IE)_

She licked the rest of the cinnamon off when she finished singing, and Cersei sighed with pleasure before rolling on top of Melisandre, sweeping those masses of red hair off both their bodies before going down on her.

Afterwards, Melisandre stood up. “I’m on boardwalk duty today. I’ll see you after, ok?” Cersei shifted on the bed uncomfortably. “I’m going to lose it when summer ends. I’ve been with a lot of girls before but….I don’t want to sound soft...none of them have made me feel like you make me feel. So I can’t lose you. You’re mine now.”

“You’re mine, too,” Melisandre responded, cocking her head to the side and arching her left eyebrow, which made Cersei’s heart race. “When I go back to the Temple and you go back to school, I’ll find a way to make it work. To make us work.”

“After my birthday party on Saturday, I have to leave the next day...”

“ _Your_ birthday party? You have a twin brother and it’s his party too, but of course it’s all about you!” Melisandre said, and Cersei leapt up and tackled her back onto the bed. She’d have to be late for boardwalk duty today.

**************************************************************************************************************************

Over the course of the summer it always seemed like Melisandre had a song for everything. As she looked intently at the ends of Cersei’s hair gathered between her fingers while trimming it, her deep voice sang quietly, “[ _and when I cut your hair and leave the birds all of the trimmings/I am the happiest woman among all women/And the shallow water stretches as far as I can see…_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iSpddh1U6E)” It would be corny, like Cinderella singing to the birds outside her window, if Melisandre wasn’t so sexy. They both sat topless on the back porch as twilight fell. Melisandre then gathered Cersei’s hair into stubby baby pigtails and kissed the bare, sensitive nape of her neck, which made her sigh. She’d had been so excited for the party, but now was dreading it because it meant she only had one more night with this magical girl. Cersei had always been the one to leave someone—no one walked away from her, ever. And she couldn’t let the first girl she’d...yeah, she could say it to herself...the first girl she’d loved walk away from her. 

“You look cute in pigtails,” Melisandre smiled when she finished, dusting the cut-off tufts of hair off Cersei’s neck and bare back with her fingers. Cersei wrinkled her nose. “Cute? Not my energy.” Melisandre laughed and replied “You’re right. More like feral,” biting Cersei’s ear. Instead of biting back like she usually would, Cersei sighed and asked “don’t you need to go home and get dressed, babe?” “Are you asking me to _leave_?” Melisandre asked, and scraped a nail across Cersei’s naked back. “Just kidding around, I do have to get dressed and practice a bit before the big show.” She stood up and put her sundress back on, her ruby choker shining in the sunlight. “See you later, okay?” Cersei, lying down on her chest, looked up at the looming figure. “I can’t wait to hear the song you wrote for me,” she replied. “Now hurry off. I have to get ready too.” Melisandre knelt down and flicked one of Cersei’s pigtails before running off.

It was evening, and although the party raged around her, Cersei still didn’t see Melisandre. “Hey,” Oberyn grabbed her around the shoulders, “is your girl coming? I can’t wait to see what exciting new shade of red she manages to pull out.” Cersei smacked him on the cheek; she was already tipsy, and her black eyeshadow and eyeliner was starting to look a bit racoon-like, the crown she wore to celebrate her big day just barely staying on. “Stop being sassy and playing fashion police. If something is working, why not stick with it? You just can’t stand not being the hottest person in the room when she’s around.” He looked up and said “speaking of the devil, or should I say, of the witch..” 

For there she was, in a silk crimson dress that fell to the floor and had a deep v-neck that showed off her breasts to devastating effect. _Witchcraft or double-stick tape, or both?_ Cersei wondered. Ben was by her side, and together they formed a formidable pair. All eyes were on her, and it thrilled Cersei to know that the girl everyone wanted was all hers. After looking around the crowded, noisy room, her eye caught Cersei’s and she waved and approached her. “You look beautiful, but what else is new” Cersei told her, grasping her arms. Melisandre grasped Cersei’s arms in return and they kept looking at one another in a dazed reverie, as if no one else was there. Nothing else mattered: only them. 

“You’re drunk already, aren’t you?” Melisandre suddenly asked, frowning. “Just a little bit, I promise. Here--” Cersei pulled Melisandre over to the bar, “take whatever you want.” Melisandre grabbed a shot glass and quickly downed it, coughing afterwards. “A shot of courage to perform,” she coughed out, staring at Cersei’s torso clad only in a skimpy bikini top that exposed the tattoos on her ribcage. Melisandre hated vodka, but it got the job done. Cersei pulled her towards the piano, and herself climbed on top of it. Probably everyone could see up her short leather skirt as she stood high above them all, but she was fresh out of fucks forever.

“BE QUIET!!” she shouted, and the room fell to a hush, as it always did at her command. On the couch, Jaime and Oberyn spooned. “Since it’s MY birthday, MY girlfriend wrote a song for ME.” She’d never officially called Melisandre her girlfriend before, but it felt right, and Melisandre didn’t object; instead, she beamed. Cersei jumped off the piano, trying and somehow succeeding at falling onto the heels of the black stilettos that laced up her calves, as Melisandre took her seat at the piano. As usual when she sat, she sat on her hair and casually tossed it out from underneath her ass; it always drove Cersei wild when she did that. “This is about the night we met” she said, looking only at Cersei, then shifting her gaze to the piano keys as she started to play, and to sing:

_Looking up from underneath_

_Fractured moonlight on the sea_

_Reflections still look the same to me_

_As before I went under_

_And it's peaceful in the deep_

_Cathedral where you cannot breathe_

_No need to pray, no need to speak_

_Now I am under_

Standing on the other end of the piano, Cersei leaned onto it towards the siren with the ethereal voice. 

_And it's breaking over me_

_A thousand miles down to the sea bed_

_Found the place to rest my head_

_Never let me go, never let me go_

_And the arms of the ocean are carrying me_

_And all this devotion was rushing out of me_

_And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me_

_But the arms of the ocean delivered me_

Cersei recalled the rush of delight that’d gone through her when she’d seen Melisandre’s pale skin shining in the moonlight earlier that summer. “A sinner like me…” Cersei could’ve only dreamed of a girl like this standing on _her_ beach, much less being like her. Another girl who liked girls. Who liked _her_. 

_Though the pressure's hard to take_

_It's the only way I can escape_

_It seems a heavy choice to make_

_And now I am under all_

_And it's breaking over me_

_A thousand miles down to the sea bed_

_Found the place to rest my head_

_Never let me go, never let me go..._

_And the arms of the ocean are carrying me_

_And all this devotion was rushing out of me_

_And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me_

_But the arms of the ocean delivered me_

_And it's over_

_And I'm going under_

_But I'm not giving up_

_I'm just giving in_

_I'm slipping underneath_

_So cold and so sweet_

_And the arms of the ocean so sweet and so cold_

_And all this devotion I never knew at all_

_And the crashes are heaven for a sinner released_

_And the arms of the ocean delivered me_

_Slipping underneath_

_So cold and so sweet_

(song credit: [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=bNKbeV3wM84&feature=emb_logo ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=bNKbeV3wM84&feature=emb_logo)) 

Everyone expected Cersei to thank Melisandre for writing her such a beautiful song, but instead she scooted onto the piano bench next to her girlfriend and loudly said, “all that talk about the ocean and you _still_ can’t even swim.” Melisandre scowled at her, then they both started laughing, their foreheads pressed together as the rest of the crowd applauded. 

******************************************************************************************************************

Cersei sat up. “Here’s to the big one, 21! Not that it matters since I’ve been drinking since middle school,” she blurted out before grabbing the bottle of red wine from next to her bed and taking another swig as she and Melisandre lay in bed together. Everyone else had left, and Cersei tried to avoid the sight of her belongings sitting around the room, all packed up for her to leave tomorrow. Melisandre had also had a few too many, and lay her head down drowsily on Cersei’s chest. Yet even when wasted she had a song for the moment, and even her mumble-singing was angelic: 

_Is it safe, is it safe, to just be who we are?_

_Oh, be my once in a lifetime_

_Lying on your chest_

_In my party dress_

_I'm a fucking mess_

She flicked her eyes upwards at Cersei, who looked down at her and stroked her long hair, which fell over off the bed. Melisandre crawled her hand up Cersei’s back to unhook and remove her green bikini top.

_Thanks for the high life_

_Baby, you're the best_

_Passed the test and yes_

_Now I'm here with you and I..._

She petted the top of Cersei’s hair with one hand, running her fingers up Cersei’s leg with the other.

_I’d like to think that you would stick around_

_You know that I just die to make you proud_

_The taste, the touch, the way we love_

_It all comes down to make_

_The sound of our love song (song credit:_ [ _https://youtu.be/5xx9gTEQaiQ_ ](https://youtu.be/5xx9gTEQaiQ) _)_

  
  


**Epilogue**

Cersei’s fingers hurt because she’d bitten the nails down so short, but this didn’t stop her from ferociously ripping the letter from Volantis open. Of course Melisandre handwrote letters in delicate cursive instead of emailing or texting like normal people:

_September 10_

_My lioness,_

_I promised you couldn’t let me go, and you can’t. Because I convinced my supervisors to let me come!_

_You always said my voice and my writing were too good to be confined to a church. That’s unfair to R’hllor, but I wrote so much this summer that it’s hard to keep it to myself. And the Temple doesn’t want me to keep my talent to myself, either. I played them some of my songs, and they think that having a hot girl sing songs that aren’t overtly designed to convert people will do a better job at converting people than the previous method. “How about infiltrating the most corrupt dens of sin: college campuses?” I asked. So as you receive this, I’ve already packed my bags and am on my way to your campus, allegedly as a “music student,” but really to convert people. Or so the other Priests and Priestesses think._

_Because I’m really coming to be with you. I said you’re my once in a lifetime, didn’t I? And I always mean what I say. Even when drunk off the Lannister wine cellar’s supply._

_Love,_

_Melisandre_

A knock on her door startled Cersei out of her dazed reverie rereading the letter. “Jaime, you’re too early. I’m not dressed yet” she shouted. 

“Good,” the voice replied. _Her_ voice replied.

Cersei ran up to the door and cracked it open to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating, and since seeing her topless was a privilege she wouldn’t allow most to afford. But when Cersei saw a flash of red hovering outside, she opened the door wider.

For there she was. 

**Author's Note:**

> Song credits in order of their appearance:  
> Something to Believe by Weyes Blood  
> Cinnamon Girl by Lana Del Rey  
> Only Skin by Joanna Newsom  
> Never Let Me Go by Florence+The Machine  
> Love Song by Lana Del Rey  
> ***I have a long Melsi playlist, available upon request


End file.
